Field of the Invention
The application relates to systems, methods, and devices for item processing. More particularly, the application relates to systems for collecting data, systems for processing data, and methods of using the systems and collected data.
Description of the Related Art
Large numbers of items are processed in a variety of situations including, for example, by postal service providers, by delivery services, by manufacturers, and by a variety of other entities and organizations. The processing of a large number of items presents several challenges, particularly in cases in which the disposition of each item, and/or the action taken with respect to each item may be different. In certain circumstances, the determination of the disposition of each item can also be complicated by the fact that instructions for the proper disposition of the item may be located on the item. Thus, these instructions must be read and the disposition of an item must be determined from the read instructions. While scanning technology can be used in many situations to determine the item disposition when this information is included on an item, this process can be complicated in the event that items are of nonstandard size, in the event that the information is not uniformly placed on the item, or by a number of other variables.
While postal services have mechanized the process of sorting and disposing letters and flats, dealing with packages, and non-letter and non-flat items has proven to be more difficult. Typically, certain aspects of the sorting process have been done by hand by skilled individuals. While these methods can be effective, they present certain problems, particularly in the event that a trained individual is no longer available, in the event that the task for the trained individual changes, or in the event that the number of trained individuals required exceeds the number of trained individuals available.
Further, relying on trained individuals does not reap the benefit of many technological advances including, for example, in computing and other areas. By relying on trained individuals, the benefits of these new technologies are foregone and information relating to the disposition of items and item processing is not circulated throughout a system or network to be analyzed or used for other purposes. In light of these shortcomings, advances in systems, methods and devices for item processing are could be beneficial.